Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Long before I was a quilter I was always a knitter and a stitcher. I tended to prefer x stitch but have also made a couple of needlepoint cushions. I have quite a few that are not framed, mainly due to the high cost of getting this done. But they are safely tucked away for me to get out and admire from time to time.

Here are some of my best works:

Flowerpot cats - 1996

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Le Caffe - 2001

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Teddies - 2002

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And here are the two needlepoint cusions I have finished, I have a WIP thats been sitting in my cupboard since I took up quilting, I never seem to get back to it now.

Friday, November 19, 2010

I have called my post Chocolate Friday rather than Brown Friday as it sounds much yummier, and of course with a name like that I could not resist including some of that yummy stuff on this post.

I have chosen some iconic South Australian choccies - Any one that really knows South Australia will know Haigs chocolates - they are divine, the pic is a half eaten bag of their choc coated caramels, (yum). Also Menz fruchocs. I purchased one of these to send to Leona in Florida so she can experience some local treats. I also could not resist showing off (again) my lovely sewing table, and lastly but not by any means least is my beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Billy. He is one of the great loves of my life and brings me great joy with his companionship and funny antics.

The other collage is some snippets of quilts featuring Chocolate prints as well as a few blocks I have made and sent to members of my Block swaps group.

Monday, November 15, 2010

A lovely surprise was waiting in the letter box for me when I got home from work today. Alex had kindly send me some pretty fabric and a sweet thank you card for my participation in her quilted hugs quilt.

Thank you so much for this lovely gift Alex, you know you didnt have to do that, but I really appreciate it.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Leona, my first PIF recipient requested that I make her an owl. She left it up to me to chose the colours, and seeing that it is almost Christmas I decided to make a Christmas Hoot. DH popped his head into my sewing room this afternoon just as I was putting the finishing touches to Hoot and asked me if I could make one for his secret Santa at work. So I set to work making Hoots twin brother.

Hoot # 1 is going to be heading off to Florida in the morning on a holiday, and he has his bags packed along with a few other Christmas goodies for Leona. Hoot #2 is waiting patiently for the Staff Christmas party.

And it was a crowded house. We were very fortunate to walk through the gate, through the A reserve section and set up camp one row from the front. Most of the day was drizzly with a shower here and there but the rain stayed away for the main show and with some bopping I even managed to get warm and took my layers of clothing off :)

As expected Crowded House were a polished Act - right from the opening song Mean to Me. Neill Finn is such a superb performer and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Tears sprung to my eyes when they sang Dont dream its over ( I have picked this to be played at my funeral - when that day comes).

Peter Lehman winery is such a fabulous setting for a concert, a large grassy area offers a perfect amphitheatre with a ring of gum trees which is all surrounded by the lovely vines that make the wine we all enjoy.

The only regret is that the concert only lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes, much shorter than any concert I think I have been to before.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Its that time of the week again, and this time its to share all things Lavender. Its not a colour I have a lot of but here are a few snippets.

The first collage is my lavender (and purple) quilts or bits of quilts and some stitchery. The snail trails quilt was made for my step daughter Nicole who loves all things purple. It does not show in the photo but the border is a shiny lavender and I quilted large hearts around the edges and filled it in with bubbles, it looked very effective.

The Second collage is items from around home, other than the coral that I photographed when I did a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef in May. The stone birds are something my Hubby and I collect, you may recall my orange parrot from Rio De Janiero.

Well the purple one here on the green rock is from Thailand, and the parrot on the cut amethyst is from San Paulo in Brasil- I didnt realise until posting this that the image of the parrot has been cut off and you can only see the stone - never mind. DH was born in Sao Paulo

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

I first posted this a while back and only have one taker so far- Leona who I am making Hoot the Owl for. How it works is I make 3 people a gift, within 365 days of them registering, and in return they put a post on their blog to invite 3 people to have a gift made by them - paying it forward.

Its a nice way to share the love, and gifts can be anything from Hoot the Owl, to a table runner or a stitchery, Its up to you.

But I have 2 more places to fill so come on - let me make you something nice :)

Just pop a comment on this post to sign up.

Quilted Hugs, Sue
ps sorry for any confusion, I accidently popped this post on the block swap site and then changed it. :)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Well I didnt, but I did get a placing, better than nothing. I had a lovely lunch with the girls from work at the Old Lion Hotel in North Adelaide. South Australians will all know about this fabulous venue.

With facinator in my hair, and rose pinned on my jacket I was looking pretty swish. Best dressed of the day went to the lovely Charlotte that works with me. So our table had style.